The Paediatric Glasgow Coma Scale (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

) or the Pediatric Glasgow Coma Score (

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

) or simply PGCS is the equivalent of the

Glasgow Coma Scale The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a clinical scale used to reliably measure a person's level of consciousness after a brain injury. The GCS assesses a person based on their ability to perform eye movements, speak, and move their body. These th ...

(GCS) used to assess the level of consciousness of child patients. As many of the assessments for an adult patient would not be appropriate for

infant In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

s, the Glasgow Coma Scale was modified slightly to form the PGCS. As with the GCS, the PGCS comprises three tests:

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

, verbal and

motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

responses. The three values separately as well as their sum are considered. The lowest possible PGCS (the sum) is 3 (deep coma or death) whilst the highest is 15 (fully awake and aware person). The pediatric GCS is commonly used in emergency medical services. In patients who are intubated, unconscious, or preverbal, the motor response is considered the most important component of the scale.

Coma scale

Any combined score of less than eight represents a significant risk of mortality. A score of 12 or below indicates a severe head injury. A score of less than 8 indicates that intubation and ventilation may be necessary. A score of 6 or below indicates that

intracranial pressure monitoring The monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) is used in the treatment of a number of neurological conditions ranging from severe traumatic brain injury to stroke and brain bleeds. This process is called intracranial pressure monitoring. Monitor ...

may be necessary.

Modified Glasgow Coma Scale for Infants and Children

References

* {{Reflist Diagnostic intensive care medicine Pediatrics Medical scales Coma Medical assessment and evaluation instruments

Coma scale

Modified Glasgow Coma Scale for Infants and Children

See also

References